Tag Archives: 2014 Special Olympics USA Games

Now that we’ve hopefully all recovered from our trip to New Jersey, SOMO staff would like to formally congratulate and thank all of the athletes, coaches, Unified Partners and family members who made Team Missouri possible over the last year. It’s been an amazing ride that was over before we even knew it and one that we’re certainly proud to have been a part of.

We just had a few housekeeping notes to get out to all of you before we shut it all down on Team Missouri 2014.

Gary’s last note

I hardly know where to start as so many people involved in making this one of our greatest moments. I want to thank all of the parents who dedicated themselves to support us, from helping their athletes raise funds, to helping their athletes train, to transporting their athletes and others to practices and to being our fans at the games. And what wonderful fans we had at every venue. I know New Jersey will always remember “Show Me, Show Me, Show Me… MO, MO, MO!” You were awesome and so was our support from home. It was incredible and we thank you all.

Thanks to the coaches who dedicated themselves for the past year to prepare these athletes for the games, giving up their personal time to ensure that our athletes would do their very best. As I said in the last newsletter, Susan and I actually relaxed during the games and got to enjoy watching the athletes, because our coaches were so well prepared. They made sure every athlete took their medications got to bed and woke up on time and got them to their games on time as well. They washed clothes nearly every day and kept their money and personal belongings so they would not get lost and carried their credentials when they played. I was very proud to hear from our coaches how well they were prepared when compared to other states.

Our staff was exceptional. Johnathon making Walmart runs whenever it was needed and supporting the teams every day. Rachel Antal taking photos and assisting Brandon with writing up our daily newsletter and alerts. Brandon, who was everywhere, making sure that we had photos and video from each sport and staying up with Rachel to write the newsletter each night. What a great job they did of communicating our successes to everyone. Renee who took care of upset tummies, scrapes and bruises with all the care of a mother with her children. Tim, who drove the equipment to and from New Jersey for us and who ran errands as needed during the games. And most of all Susan Shaffer, the energizer bunny. I was almost blessed to have her and Genice lose their voices both at the same time — heaven! But I seriously could not have made it around without Susan. She went out early to prepare for our arrival and missed the send-off. We traveled to every venue and at times she was able to save me from collapsing by getting me a ride in a golf cart. What a great group to work with. I admire them all for how they dealt with all of our issues without complaint and had fun the entire time.

Above all I must recognize the athletes. They were phenomenal the entire trip. Never complaining, always smiling and enjoying every minute of every day no matter what the conditions. Whenever I would find myself wanting to curse a situation — believe me there were many — I would look at the example our athletes set and smile instead. At every turn our athletes made us proud. Whether they got the gold or finished with a ribbon they were proud and displayed their awards to everyone that would listen and pay attention. I was so very proud of all of them.

I must also thank Jennifer Rodvelt and Laurie Shadoan for the wonderful send-off they put together in St. Louis. It was awesome. And someone please thank all of the law enforcement officers for me. They made it special for all of us. On our arrival back in Missouri, we were treated to pizza and soda by board member Mr. and Mrs. Roger Gardner, which was arranged by Jennifer Brown. That was a so nice to have something to eat and drink, especially since we had not eaten since 4:30 a.m. And to all of our staff that supported us throughout the year, thank you. Those in the program that helped with arranging practices and those in development that helped with fundraisers and all the processing of the funds in the SOMO HQ Office.

I cannot forget Crystal Schuster. She made the week enjoyable for all of our families and fans in attendance by ensuring they were registered properly and getting all of the tons of information to them as soon as it came out. Thanks, Crystal for making this a great trip for our fans and for supporting us in the process.

Thank you all for making dreams come true. They did not give an award for the best sportsmanship of these games like they did in 2010 in Lincoln, but I’d bet my last dollar that the reason why is that they didn’t want to give it to Special Olympics Missouri two times in a row!

Now that the 2014 USA Games are over and done with, SOI wants to hear your stories from the Games, so be sure to log onto http:///www.specialolympics.org/share/ and tell your story about how you competed, traveled with the team or even followed along from home. It’s really quick and easy to do!

We hope that those of you who used our mobile app found it useful regardless of whether you were on site following the team or wanted to stay up to date back home. If you could be so kind as to take part in a really quick survey about the mobile app on the website, it would really help us figure out how to best serve our athletes and families moving forward. Thank you!

Text message alerts from USA Games

This message comes straight from the USA Games Healthy Athletes organizers, so please read:

The Special Olympics Healthy Athletes Program is trying to ensure that athletes who need follow up care from Healthy Athletes examinations are getting the care they need following HA. One way we are trying to do this is to follow up with athletes who received referrals from HA by sending them or their caregivers a text message after the event to remind them of the referral they received.

At USA Games, we asked athletes and their caregivers at Opening Eyes and Special Smiles if they would like to receive text messages from Special Olympics to remind them if they needed to seek further care after the Games. Next week, we will send text messages to athletes who had referrals at Opening Eyes or Special Smiles and opted in to receive text messages.

The messages will look like this:

Hi, Robyn. At Special Olympics USA Games, we asked you to see a dentist for treatment. Text back 1 if you made a dental appointment. Text back 2 if you did not.

Based on the response, there are subsequent messages that will go to the athletes in hopes this will prompt them to see a doctor/dentist.

The USA Games GOC is in the early stages of trying out this text message service and will use results and feedback from this pilot at the USA Games to continue to develop a system so eventually more SO Programs can use this service.

Donate to future Team Missouri delegates

Special Olympics Missouri athletes train year-round for sports competitions. With training and competitions in 21 Olympic-style sports, our athletes push hard and play harder. They strive to beat their personal bests, defying the odds again and again. From the local ballfields to the shining stage of the USA Games, from swimming to basketball, our athletes showcase the talents and triumphs of people with intellectual disabilities. You can be part of this exciting program, too.

Please donate to the training of Team Missouri athletes now and into the future by becoming a Team Missouri donor. You can donate online at https://somo.org/team-missouri-donors or by mailing your donation to: Special Olympics Missouri – Team Missouri, 1001 Diamond Ridge, Suite 800, Jefferson City, MO 65109.

The rest of our teams finished up competition play today and then wrapped up the Games with an awesome Closing Ceremony. It was nice to see so many of our teams and families who had finished up competition the day before, out supporting the men’s and women’s basketball teams in their medal games today. There were lots of hugs and tears to go around after Closing when everyone knew we had reached the end a lot sooner than we all would have hoped.

Team Missouri Head of Delegation Gary Brimer said that it has been a wonderful week all around. “It was actually kind of relaxing for us, but that’s a testament to how well-prepared the coaches were,” Brimer said. “We couldn’t be more proud of our athletes regardless of how they placed in competition. It was a great team and a great time.”

Athletics –Finished up yesterday!

Aquatics-The swim team finished up its competition schedule today with the following results:

Basketball (men’s)-The men played a very tight match in the bronze medal game against Indiana. They had a chance to tie the game with less than a minute left, but it just didn’t work out today. The team was emotional after the loss, but they were happy that so many people from Team Missouri showed up to watch the game and cheer them on. Congrats to the men’s basketball team for a great week of playing their hearts out.

Basketball (women’s)-The women played in the gold medal game against Ohio this morning, but just couldn’t pull it off, so they took home the silver medal. This team has come a LONG way since the start of Training Camp last June and everyone on staff couldn’t be more proud of how this group of young women came together as a team. Great work, ladies!

Bocce-Finished up yesterday!

Bowling-While the bowling teams (regular and Unified) finished up competition on Thursday, they received their awards this morning. The results are as follows:

“It made me think about all of the people who have experienced Special Olympics for the first time this week. From the first-time volunteers, to the staff at the venues, to the bus drivers, and even the people we sat next to on the plane — we have spread the mission of Special Olympics far and wide this week. We have shown the nation that we are more alike than different; that our athletes are valuable members of society; that what really defines us is our character – not our IQ.”See Mandi Steward Ballinger’s (sports manager for bowling) blog here.

Mobile App –
We hope that everyone enjoyed and took advantage of the mobile app this past week. Just remember that just because the Games are over, doesn’t mean the app is now going away. Still keep uploading your user photos to the photo gallery and be sure to look through all of the photos Rachel and Brandon took in the Flickr portion. The app doesn’t actually go down for another year, so be sure to keep using it as you’d like.

Photo Galleries –
Photos from the sports and fun activities are available both on our Flickr account and on our Facebook page. They will be updated throughout the week so be sure to check in on a daily basis!

Many of our teams finished up competition play today and just have their awards to give tomorrow. Many of our MO Magic fans came out to support. The athletes are not looking forward to being done with competition, that’s for sure.

Athletics –

The athletes started their finals today. It was a good day for Team Missouri in medals. The venue was determined to get all the events squeezed in today so it made for a long day for the athletes outside. They were troopers through it all.

Coach Julia Busken said that Danny Topete jumped the farthest he ever had today in the running long jump with a 4.36. The athletes actually thought he was hurt after his second jump, but he was only praying.

Results:

Danny Topete: Gold in the running long jump, gold in mini javelin

Allen Tobin: 4th in the running long jump, 5th in 100m run, 4th in 200m run

The team had another successful day at the pool. They even got to meet Olympic Gold medalist, Dara Torres and get their picture taken with her. Several of the swimmers received a medal or ribbon today. Coach Amy Wurst said Nathan Baldwin’s 50 freestyle race was so close that when the scores came up, it looked like he had gotten third but when he got up on the award stands, he had actually out touched the other guy and got a silver.

The men played a very tough match against New York. They were ahead most of the game but lost by 1 point. They worked well together as a team. They play tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. against Indiana for the bronze at the College of New Jersey.

Basketball (women’s)-

The women started off the morning playing against Texas. They won 21-12. They had previously lost to them but got their revenge today. They play tomorrow morning for the gold medal at 9:15 a.m. at The Hun School.

Bocce-

The singles divisions started today. The athletes played great today and all of them finished with a medal or ribbon.

Results:

Lonnie Thornton – Gold in singles

Matt Cepeda – Silver in singles

Pierce Rash – 4th in singles

Rebecca Tinknell – 4th in singles

Morgan Coombe – Gold in singles

Melissa Buss – Silver in singles

Bowling-

Teams played today to finish up their last day of competition. They had some very tough competition today. They receive their awards tomorrow, so we have to wait until then to see how everyone finished up.

Flag Football-

Unfortunately the team lost their game this morning. The athletes improved on their gameplay but they just couldn’t get the win. They finished the day with awards and received a 5th place ribbon. Flag football was sitting under the athlete lounge tent today to take a team picture. Coach Chase Crane went around the backside of the tent and hit it up so the rain water flew out the front on to the athletes. Coach Steve Wilmesherr caught the water on camera right before it hit them and they didn’t even see it coming.

Golf-

The golfers finished up with awards today, which very smoothly. There were lots of fans out to support the team. They were able to finish the week on a positive note.

They continued to be fans of the game today. At the men’s basketball game, Brianne Chavez and Dary McIntyre got the fans pumped up by leading the show me, show me, show me cheer.

Tennis-

Tennis finished up an amazing week of competition today with singles. Brittany Selken played some great matches and ended up bringing home a bronze medal. Bobby also shined in his matches. He too received a bronze medal.

Results:

Brittany Selken – Bronze in singles

Bobby Williams – Bronze in singles

Volleyball-

The team started out the morning with a loss against New Jersey. They played hard but made a few mistakes. After getting over the morning jitters, they played Pennsylvania for the bronze medal. It was a rematch from the other day. After losing the first set, they came back strong and won on the second set. They got the win on the third set and took bronze. They have awards tomorrow. Matt Montgomery was in tears after their victory and hugging everyone. The athletes were very excited.

Mobile App –
Don’t forget to download the Team Missouri mobile app on your Apple or Android devices. This will be the most immersive MO Magic experience and the best way to follow the team all week while our athletes are busy making you all proud back home. Whether you’re joining us in New Jersey or watching from afar, the app really does have something for everybody (schedules, photo galleries, alerts on when athletes receive awards, videos and more!). If you don’t have a mobile device capable of utilizing the app, you can still access the app via the web at http://m.core-apps.com/somo_2014 or just stay tuned at www.somo.org/momagic.

Videos –
Sometime Friday morning we will be posting a couple of videos from golf athlete Thomas Cleek, so stay tuned to our YouTube channel!

Photo Galleries –
Photos from the sports and fun activities are available both on our Flickr account and on our Facebook page. They will be updated throughout the week so be sure to check in on a daily basis!

Today every one of our teams competed and so many of our athletes received awards. It was supposedly one of the hottest days of the year (according to locals), but everyone competed hard and look forward to what the rest of the week has in store.

Athletics –
Everybody on the athletics team competed today with two of the athletes having finals: Eric Wright won gold in the 50 meter run and Danny won silver in the 400 meter run. Eric was so excited and it was great that his family was there to see it. Officially he was the first medal of the 2014 USA Games for Team Missouri. He didn’t even know it was his final. We just told him to run as if you’re going for the gold and he did. He was so excited and kept asking, “I did good, didn’t I?”

Paige Hall, Maria Arnett and Jane Highland all competed in their preliminary 100 meter run. Maria ran a fantastic race. Allen Tobin and Jason Coffman had their preliminaries in shotput. Shelley Antle had her preliminary in the standing long jump and is within inches of the person who finished first in preliminaries.

Wednesday’s schedule has a lot of Team Missouri athletes competing in finals, so stay tuned as the results come in!

Aquatics –
It was a good day today for the aquatics team as the athletes had their first round of finals and these were the results:

Nathan Baldwin: 4th place in the 25 yard backstroke
Logan Hulett: Bronze in the 200 yard freestyle
Cody Anderson: Silver in the 200 yard freestyle and bronze in the 100 yard medley
Libby Waddell: Bronze in the 100 yard individual medley and bronze in the 200 yard freestyle

Tomorrow holds more preliminaries and finals for our swimmers and they’re really looking forward to getting back in the pool.

Men’s basketball – The men’s basketball team played a really good New Jersey team that was much quicker and stronger than our athletes. New Jersey played a great 3-guard fast break offense that accounted for more than 60 percent of their points. It was just really hard for our guys to stop them. Coach Stan Smith said the team also didn’t handle the kind of press New Jersey threw at them. But he also said that he was proud of the team for not complaining about it and keeping their cool trying to find the best way to break through. The team is still not sure when it’s playing on Wednesday, but will find out as early as possible. Stay tuned to the mobile app for details as they become available.

Women’s basketball –The women’s basketball team lost to Ohio today 24-12. They women on the Ohio team were just taller and bigger than our Team Missouri athletes and it was too much to handle. Ohio jumped on us pretty quickly with their tall girls in the game, but eventually our girls battled hard to close the gap. The women’s team is also unsure of when it’s playing Wednesday and will find out early in the morning, so check the app early and often.

Bocce –Today was hot and frustrating one for the bocce team after a couple of technical difficulties and scheduling quirks left the team sitting for most of the day without the chance to compete. They were able to get over to see the powerlifting competition and cheer on Team Missouri’s two athletes competing there, but most of the morning was a wash.

When they all returned in the early evening, Unified Partner Jeanie Byland and Melissa Buss finished 1-1 beating Louisiana 10-6 and dropping their second match. Matthew Cepeda and UP William Reese squared off against fellow Team Missouri members UP Scott Copeland and Pierce Rash with Matthew and William coming out on top. Both teams played an eventual second match against other states, but both dropped those matches. UP Mike Lowry and Lonnie Thornton lost a really, really close first match 9-10 and Rebecca Tincknell and UP Courtney Patton are still waiting to play their second game, which will finish up on Wednesday morning. Linda Tyler and Morgan Coombe weren’t able to play because one of the athletes on the team they were supposed to play spent the day in the hospital. They are set to resume play Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. Coach Kathy Lowry said it’s been nice to see the parents in attendance really help the team out, not just their own athletes, but the whole team.

Bowling –
Today was the finals day of singles competition in which the guys did really well. Michael Lunceford bowled a 160 and his average is a 91, so that was a huge improvement; he finished with the gold medal in his division! Chris Miller was in a really tough group and bowled a 208 in one of his games. Another athlete who bowled way over his average was Ryan Fant who typically bowls around a 100, but in his third game had a 163. Awards followed at Rider University and the athletes didn’t know how they placed until they were on the podium. Ryan had no idea he got a silver and the look on his face after finding out he got silver place was priceless. Even the usually stoic and quiet Chris had a smile on his face when he found out he won the gold medal in his division.

As far as the lady bowlers, Tanya Johnson got 8th place and really was just happy to be there. Tiffany finished 4th and Lindsey Hawkins took home the bronze.

Wednesday’s schedule includes Unified Doubles and regulation doubles with the team competition set for Thursday.

Flag Football –
The flag football team is still trying to get on track after losing both games today. Coach Steve Wilmesherr said the second game was a lot closer and they played better and really should have won, but they still made too many mistakes to come out on top. The team will square off against Colorado at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday

Golf –
Coach Ken Neff said the golf team collectively took a step back during competition Tuesday, but athletes still had their heads held high with smiles on their faces as they walked off the course and that’s what is key. As a whole everything is running really smoothly at the golf venue and all of the athletes will need to step up their game on their final day of competition on Wednesday. Ken also said that Tina Jones and Tere’e Trussell’s scores in individual skills (higher scores are better) on Monday weren’t as low as reported in the Monday night newsletter, but in the low 50s instead of the 40s. The team attended the baseball game tonight and Tere’e was one of the athletes who got to throw out the first pitch. They all had a blast at the game.

Powerlifting –
Powerlifters Dary McIntyre and Brianne Chavez had an absolutely phenomenal day of competition according to coach Ed Blaylock. Brianne just totally dominated everyone in the female division and probably could have outlifted most of the men. She set a personal record by squatting 330 lbs. and probably could have done 350 easily if given the chance she was that on it today. She then benched 165 lbs. and deadlifted 358, which gave her a total of 854 lbs. on the day. All of those lifts won her a gold medal and was obviously good enough for the overall gold medal in the combination as well (four gold medals in total).

Dary McIntyre was in a really tough division against some really good competition, but still started off the day by taking gold in the squat. He then took fourth place in the bench press and bronze in the deadlift with 330 lbs. Overall, these three places earned him a silver medal in the combination portion. So, Dary won each of the medals and ribbons available (gold, silver, bronze and 4th place).

While on the awards stand, the athletes not only received their medals, but also get a nice bouquet of flowers. Well, for some reason the flowers weren’t available for the female powerlifters, but following Dary’s awards ceremony, he gave his flowers to Brianne who, isn’t one to really show much emotion, started crying. All in all it was a good day of competition for the Team Missouri powerlifters. They are now finished for the week.

Tennis –

Both Bobby Williams and Brittany Selken competed in singles today before their finals begin on Thursday. Unfortunately, both of them lost their matches. Bobby lost a really close match against an athlete from New Jersey. Coach Peggy Llewellyn-Neff said it was a really close and intense match and probably was the gold medal match with the way it was played.

Both sets of Unified Doubles (with UPs Jeremie Ballinger and Ashley Wurst) will compete Wednesday morning, both for the gold medal.

Volleyball –
The volleyball team had preliminary matches again Colorado and Pennsylvania on Tuesday. In the morning session, Team Missouri won both games (in three sets against Pennsylvania and two against Colorado). In the afternoon, they beat Pennsylvania again (this time in two sets), but lost to Colorado in three really, really close sets. They are adding another team to their division tomorrow in New Jersey. They are set to play at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Wednesday.

“If you’re a sports fan there’s a game or performance you always remember, like Michael Jordan’s Flu Game or Tiger Woods winning a major with an injured leg. Special Olympics is like that as well. There’s always an athlete or a moment that stands out and reminds you why it’s so inspiring. Today was that day for me.” See more of Jeremie Ballinger’s (Unified Partner in tennis) blog here.

“Have I mentioned this bowling alley has 82 lanes? That is pretty challenging when you have six athletes spread out from lane 12 to lane 64. Coach Bea and I took turns running around to check on everyone and give them a little encouragement when they needed it. Luckily MO Magic fans are the best, so there were only a few times when our athletes were truly on their own.” See more of Mandi Steward Ballinger’s (sports manager for bowling) blog here.

Mobile App –
Don’t forget to download the Team Missouri mobile app on your Apple or Android devices. This will be the most immersive MO Magic experience and the best way to follow the team all week while our athletes are busy making you all proud back home. Whether you’re joining us in New Jersey or watching from afar, the app really does have something for everybody (schedules, photo galleries, alerts on when athletes receive awards, videos and more!). If you don’t have a mobile device capable of utilizing the app, you can still access the app via the web at http://m.core-apps.com/somo_2014 or just stay tuned at www.somo.org/momagic.

Videos –
Get a first-hand account of what it’s like for the athletes as they go through Healthy Athletes® Park with these two videos (here & here)

Photo Galleries –
Photos from the sports and fun activities are available both on our Flickr account and on our Facebook page. They will be updated throughout the week so be sure to check in on a daily basis!

Today was the first day of competitions (divisioning, pool play and preliminaries) for most of our teams including aquatics, athletics, basketball (both men’s and women’s), bocce, bowling, flag football, golf, tennis and volleyball.

Aquatics –
Today was the first round of preliminaries at Princeton University. Overall it was an exciting day, where all of the swimmers improved on their times that they typically put up. Libby Waddell was so excited to see her name on the big board with her swim time. She was dancing and waving her hat around she was so ecstatic. Whenever coaches Amy and Teri start to get stressed about something they ask Jennifer Neihouse what they needs to do and she starts singing “Let it Go.” Most swimmers on the team will be back in the pool on Tuesday for more preliminaries and a few finals.

Athletics –
Everybody except Maria Arnett competed today at the beautiful facility at Princeton University. The young ladies who did compete today including Jane Highland, Shelley Antle and Paige Hall, overcame their nerves early on to do well in their preliminaries. Everyone will be competing on Tuesday in their respective events, some of which are the finals, so stay tuned for information as Team Missouri starts to receive awards.

Men’s basketball –The men’s basketball team played a nail-biter of a game against Texas to start the day. It was a really even match with Team Missouri coming out on top by two points. Coach Stan Smith said he felt like the guys played really well and most of the players got plenty of playing time. They will play against New York on Tuesday morning.

Women’s basketball –The women’s basketball team went 1-1 in divisioning play today by beating up on Delaware in the first game and losing a heart-breaker by two against Texas. The girls played really hard in both games and the coaches were really pleased at the outcome considering how the team hasn’t been playing together for very long. Coach Keith Patterson said he was really amazed to see some of the typically reserved athletes come out of their shell during the game and show that they weren’t going to be pushed around by bigger opponents. They will play Ohio in the early morning Tuesday.

Bocce –Today was divisioning for bocce. Each of the athletes rolled 15 balls so the judges could be sure to put them in the right division against opponents of similar ability. After divisioning, bocce members were able to go and watch the women’s basketball team play the second half of its game and it was exciting to watch the girls take care of business and win. The bocce team finished out the day with a well-deserved nap and a wonderful trip up the Hudson River on a dinner cruise.

Bowling –
Today was the first day for preliminaries for all bowlers at the massive Brunswick Zone in Lawrence, N.J. Lindsey Hawkins had a turkey, Chris Miller bowled four strikes in a row and Unified Partner CJ O’Neal had five strikes in a row. The Unified Partners will take Tuesday off as the athletes take center stage and bowl their singles games Tuesday morning. Awards will follow shortly thereafter back at Rider University.

Flag Football –The flag football team had a hard day on Monday losing both of its games. First it played host state New Jersey and then later in the afternoon squared off against Nebraska. Coach Steve Wilmesherr said it was clear a lot of the players had some nerves going into the first game and it showed in their play, but he added that was really proud of how the team played much better in its afternoon game against the Cornhuskers. He said the guys were really fired up for the second game and showed a lot more enthusiasm and intensity; they improved from game one to game two and that’s really all you can ask from a team. He said it’s really easy to quit when you’re down, but they didn’t do that. The flag football team will square off against Wisconsin at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Golf –
Coach Ken Neff said the golf team had a really good first day out on the majestic course at Mercer County Park. Thomas Cleek shot a 106 playing individual 18 holes and he’s bound and determined to break 100 as the week goes on. Chris Ringot shot a 57 for 9 holes and Nick and Jerry McMullen (UP) shot a 64 as a Unified team. The other Unified team of Jocelyn Diehl (UP) and Stephanie Littrell shot a 77, but coach Ken Neff said more importantly they came off the course with huge smiles on their faces. They played with a team from Nebraska and by the end of the round they were all best friends. Stephanie said that today was the most fun she’s ever had and that’s really the point of all of this, right? For individual skills golfers, Tere’e Trussell and Tina Jones both shot a 44 out of 120 possible points. Tere’e started golfing barely 12 months ago and had a nearly perfect score in the short putt section with an 18 of 20 points. But coach Ken Neff summed it up by saying it’s not about the scores because a successful day is one where they’re excited to come off the course and be ready for the next day. It’s one of the best days of golf that we’ve ever had, he said. The golfers will all compete at the same time and location on Tuesday.

Powerlifting –
Powerlifters Dary McIntyre and Brianne Chavez had a day of rest before they start competition Tuesday morning competing in the deadlift, bench press and squat combination competition. Brianne lifts at 9 a.m. and Dary lifts at 1:30 p.m. They spent their day by watching the basketball teams and cheering them on from the stands.

Tennis –
Another fantastic venue was the tennis complex at Mercer County Parks. Monday was the preliminary rounds for singles for Bobby Williams and Brittany Selken. While Brittany lost both of her matches, Bobby won both of his rather easily. Because of the divisioning, coaches Peggy Llewellyn-Neff and Linda Wiederholt were able to take part in a coaches clinic with pros from the United States Tennis Association, which both Peggy and Linda loved. In the evening both doubles teams with Unified Partners, Jeremie Ballinger playing with Bobby (on the center court with stadium seating) and Ashley Wurst playing with Brittany, won their matches against Louisiana and Georgia respectively. Following the women’s match against Georgia the ref told coach Peggy that the two Unified Partners of Ashley and the other from Georgia were the best UPs he’s ever seen since he’s been involved with Special Olympics Unified Sports play. He said they both gave their athletes the best chance to play the balls and they were great on-the-court coaches. Following the wins by both teams, they were invited back to center court to take part in the Unified Sports Showcase, which highlighted Unified Sports play with help from SO New Jersey athletes and tennis pros from the USTA. Tuesday’s competition schedule begins with singles for both Bobby and Brittany. The Unified teams will both be playing for gold bright and early Wednesday morning.

Volleyball – The volleyball team struggled in the first two games, but was able to start putting together the skills to win the last two games compiling a 2-2 record on the first day of divisioning. In addition to it being an early start time, the fact that they weren’t going off of the score, but on a 25 minute play schedule threw them off a bit. Toward the end of the day, players were starting to get their serves over the net and move their feet to get to the ball. There were some great players by all but outstanding plays were made by Shaina Galloway, Matt Montgomery, Arthur Murphy and Jean Buersmeyer. Everyone began to pull together and started playing like a team by the end. Coach Diane Brimer said the team is really looking forward to getting into a regular game. She also said that one of the highlights was watching the players meet the other players from the other states and trading their pins back and forth.

“The spirit of the USA Games are so different from the competitive world of high school and college sports that I am used to; while SOMO athletes are playing their hardest to win, they are also the first to encourage a competitor and wish them the best, which I love to watch.” See more of Jocelyn Dieh’s (Unified Partner in golf) blog here.

“The whole program was high emotional charge. The theme of Champions was carried throughout. I have been to two previous nationals and none of them compared to this electric event. I can’t even find the words so I hope you were there or streamed it on the computer…” See more of Linda Wiederholt’s (sports manager for powerlifting and tennis) blog here. After a few technical difficulties, Linda’s blog is now up to date with three posts Monday night, so be sure to catch up!

Mobile App –
Don’t forget to download the Team Missouri mobile app on your Apple or Android devices. This will be the most immersive MO Magic experience and the best way to follow the team all week while our athletes are busy making you all proud back home. Whether you’re joining us in New Jersey or watching from afar, the app really does have something for everybody (schedules, photo galleries, alerts on when athletes receive awards, videos and more!). If you don’t have a mobile device capable of utilizing the app, you can still access the app via the web at http://m.core-apps.com/somo_2014 or just stay tuned at www.somo.org/momagic.

Videos –
Get a first-hand account of what it’s like on the dinner cruise with volleyball player George Richardson with these two videos (here & here)

Photo Galleries –
Photos from the sports and fun activities are available both on our Flickr account and on our Facebook page. They will be updated throughout the week so be sure to check in on a daily basis!